Birthday FUn

 We did Avery's birthday in two parts. I had to work on her birthday, so we weren't able to have dinner on her actual birthday. But I am getting ahead of myself. For her birthday, instead of a family gift, Avery wanted to go shopping. So I let her know what the budget was, and off we went. First we stopped at The Gypsy Emporium. A cute little antique shop in Hurricane that she and I both love. She found some things she liked but wasn't committed to spending the money on them. Next, it was off to the mall in St. George. We visited a few clothing stores until she found some shirts that she really liked. So she bought two shirts, and then we headed to Barnes & Noble. She had brought some of her own money that she had earned, and with the rest of her budgeted birthday money and some of her own, she bought two books. Kilian had some money from watching our neighbor's dog while they were away on vacation, and he even found a book to buy. Love that my kids love bookstores as much as I do. After we went to Arctic Circle for some lunch before going back home so I could be at work on time. 

Today, June 20, we had a day filled with errands and a birthday dinner. Avery had an eye exam, and we found out she needed glasses. She found a pair she liked and got them ordered. That surprisingly took a lot of the day. Avery decided that for her birthday dinner she wanted to go to The Pizza Factory. Which, being a pizza connoisseur, James was all for. Overall, I think Avery really enjoyed her birthday weekend. 

FOURTEEN!!!!

 I find it hard to believe that I have a 14-year-old and next year she will be driving. SCARY!!! For now, I will focus on the present.

At 14, Avery's favorite things are...

She is still very creative and artistic. She expands her talent every day. She still loves to draw, but she's also learned to sew and make her own cosplay outfits.

She really likes to bake and cook and always asks if she can make dinner for everyone, which I love. She has a recipe for homemade pizza that everyone loves. It's so good!!!

Like most teenagers, she is all about her friends. If she is not hanging out with them, she's on her phone texting or talking to them.

She loves dyeing her hair different colors and is always trying new things. 

She is still very much a cat person, and her favorite cat will always be her cat, Luna.

Even though she's a teenager, she still enjoys spending time with her family. She even loves her little brother, although he does get on her nerves sometimes, as most siblings tend to do. 

Some of the things Avery is scared of....

Like most people, new situations and people often scare her, especially with her anxiety. But she does a really good job trying not to let those fears keep her down. 

There isn't really a lot I can think of that genuinely scares her. I mean, the girl even loves horror movies, and her dad loves being able to share that with her. 

Some of the new things from this past year...

She has started baking and cooking and really enjoys that.

She has been doing a lot more cosplay and has started to dabble in makeup art.

She is my brave, fierce girl who focuses on her goals and what she wants to accomplish and doesn't back down.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Summer Craziness.

 Well, it's been a bit since I last posted. The kids are out of school, and summer has officially begun. The last two weeks of June have been a whirlwind for poor Avery. On June 3rd, she had girls' camp, which she was really nervous about. To boost her confidence, she redyed her hair the night before. This time she did a UV-reactive green. She also borrowed my handheld black light to take with her to show off her hair. It was a big hit, and she had a lot of fun at camp. She even told me she got to participate in being the snipe for the snipe hunt, which she said was really fun. She only got a short weekend home before she was off to FSY (for the strength of youth) at Dixie State's Campus on June 8th. (Technically Utah Tech, but it'll always be Dixie in my eyes. 😉) She made it to just the day before it ended before she got sick, and I had to go pick her up. She said she had fun and everyone was super nice, but I think the back-to-back weekly activities were just too much for her. Well, she gets about a week's break before we go again, so hopefully she'll be feeling better. 

End of the School Year Fun

 Kilian had his end-of-year performance at school for his Spanish-speaking class. I know he doesn't look excited. But he really was. He kept asking me if I would be there, and I had to reassure him that I was planning on going. He did great!

Mesa Verde

 Today we headed home, but first I wanted to stop by Mesa Verde. I have wanted to take James here for years, and now I get to take him and my kiddos. While everyone packed up and got some breakfast, Avery and I went back to the train station to check the lost and found to see if someone turned in her bracelet. Unfortunately, it wasn't there.  We gave them our information in case they find it; they said they could mail it back to us. After a quick picture at the cute horse statue outside the station, we headed back to the hotel. 

The turnoff to Mesa Verde is on the way home and only 30 minutes out of the way. It was a beautiful drive. We reached the museum trailhead to the cliff house overlook. We got to see a movie all about the Native Americans who used the cliff house and surrounding areas. The museum was being renovated, so it wasn't as big, but it was still fascinating. 

After the museum, we hiked down to the overlook to see Cliff House. I haven't been here in years, and it was still just as breathtaking as I remember. Unfortunately, we were not able to walk all the way down to the ruins like we used to. But it was still wonderful to finally share this experience with my family.  

We drove around the park and stopped at various points to see more ruins and to also get a little closer to the cliff house ruins. Everyone loved spending that time there, but it started to get late and we still had a long drive home. The ride home went well, everyone was happy to be back home with lots of fun new memories to cherish.

Durango to Silverton

 This past weekend we had the chance to go on an adventure. My mom has been wanting us to go to Durango, Colorado, to ride the old steam train from there to the mining town of Silverton. I have been wanting to do that too since Kilian loves trains so much, but it's just been a bit too expensive for us. With some help from Mom, we were finally able to make the trip. On May 1st, we rented a van and started the 8-hour drive to Colorado. The great thing about this, too, is that Kilian had NO idea. Avery was even in on the surprise. We got to the hotel and told him we needed to get to sleep because we had an early morning activity we had to be at. 

May 2nd- We got to the station and Kilian saw the trains and stated how cool it would be to be able to ride one. When we told him we were he was beside himself with excitement. We got our tickets and it was still almost an hour before our train was going to leave. So we went to the cute train museum that they had at the station. They had a lot of wonderful things to see. From old steam trains no longer functioning, to cars, motorcycles and boats some even from one of the world wars and much more. It was so fascinating to walk around all that history.

There was a train with its passenger carts that the sign said was supposedly haunted. Unfortunately we didn't see or hear anything but it was still fun to go in and look around. Kilian especially loved the caboose. 

After a while our train had pulled into the station and it was time to board. 

When the train did start to move, Kilian was still excited but his anxiety started to amp up. His poor anxiety really hit when the conductor came by to tell us about the bridge we would be crossing and how high up we would be and the spectacular views we would see. That did it! Poor guy is TERRIFIED of heights and when thr train slowed down to go over the bridge it sort of sent him into a spiral. 

The views all the way up the canyon were so breathtaking though. IT was almost exactly how I remembered it when I rode the train with my parents when I was younger. Kilian made sure to stay either by my side or James', whoever was closest to the part of the mountain that wasn't a drop off. Avery and mom was loving it too. The train had to stop once to refill its water and then we were off again. I will say though a 3 hour train ride is nothing to scoff at. By the last half hour to hour we were ready to be in Silverton and get some lunch. Avery and I would walk the train and even went and got some popcorn in the dining cart. We could NOT convince Kilian to walk around with us though. 

We got into Silverton and was greeted by people dressed in period time clothing. We headed to a cute little restaurant for some lunch. It was buzzing with people. I think  most of the people on the train chose that restaurant. After lunch we walked around and looked at the cute shops and bought a couple souvenirs. Mom needed to sit so she found a bench by where we would board the train again. Avery wanted to go get a picture with some of the saloon ladies, so we headed off in search of them and to explore a little more of the town. Before long we heard the train whistle that indicated we needed to get back on the train to head back down. 

Kilian was stressing about having to ride the train back down the mountain and we had to explain to him that it was the only way to get back down. It was hard for him at first. and he cuddled super close to me till he fell asleep. I wondered if that was part of his problem was not enough sleep the night before with all the excitement of a trip and not knowing where we were and what we would be doing. 

When he woke up from his nap, he had a whole new view on things. He even asked if I would walk around the train with him. When he found the open air passenger car he was so excited. we stayed there for awhile. He was sticking his head out and laughing and saying how neat it was. Going up the mountain I had a hard time convincing this boy to let me keep the window open Now he was sticking his head right out. Silly boy. The rest of the train ride down went a lot smoother and he seemed a lot happier. By the time the train was down the mountain and riding through the town he was talking about coming back and the next time we come we need to sit in the open air car. The train pulled into the Durango station once again. We got off the train thanking everyone along the way. The boys wanted to get back to the hotel so we dropped them off and then Avery, Mom and I went out to dinner at Applebee's. We did grab some dinner for the boys before heading back to the hotel to relax for the night. Seriously such a fun day.